Start/Sit Questions: Week 2

Some things in fantasy football are easy. We know we should start Tyreek Hill and Breece Hall. We know we should bench the backup running back who is only on our roster in case of injury. A lot of the decisions are made for us. However, there are a lot of things that are not so simple. All of the “in between” situations are what can make the difference between a few wins and losses, and therefore it can be the difference between a successful season or a failed season. Every Friday, we are here to help!!

I’ll take questions each week in our #fantasy-football channel in our Discord from people looking for Start/Sit advice and give my thoughts. This article on Fridays will feature a few of those questions and responses, so join our Discord to be a part of the conversation or ask questions of your own!!

Join us tomorrow for Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 2!

Question 1:: Play 1 RB/2 Flex: Jordan Mason, James Conner, Derrick Henry, Drake London, Diontae Johnson? (PPR) (PSUBALTFAN)

Answer:: This one is really tough for me. Assuming CMC does not play for the 49ers, I would start Mason and Conner for sure. Then it comes down to Henry or London. Since it is full-PPR my lean is to the wide receiver (London) over the situational running back with very low receiving expectations. That being said, I did the NFL Edge game writeup for the Ravens game this week and this is a terrific setup for Henry to score multiple touchdowns. My final answer is Mason and Conner as clear workhorses, then flip a coin for London or Henry. Definitely don’t start the Panther.

Question 2:: Amari Cooper or Tony Pollard (Rhamondre Stevenson and Jordan Mason are my other Rbs) for a flex spot. (0.5 PPR) (gjlreid)

Answer:: First of all, I agree with you on Rhamondre and Mason being the locked-in running backs for this roster over Pollard. The Patriots seem committed to their backfield for now and Mason is a top-10 RB this week. For the Flex spot, my lean is to Amari Cooper over Pollard. I see Cooper as a player who can win any week for you with his ceiling outcomes, and unless you clearly have a better option, you should have him in your lineup because you don’t want to miss one of those two or three weeks that he can win for you almost single-handedly. The fact that he is involved in this question as a “Flex” tells me you have solid, and likely more consistent, options already locked into your lineup at the WR spots. Ride the variance train with Amari.

Question 3:: Marvin Harrison, Jr. or Christian Kirk in 0.5 PPR? (garbage time)

Answer:: I suspect there are a lot of people considering situations similar to this in Week 2. This is still pretty clearly Harrison for me. This is an elite prospect who had one poor game against a very good team. If you have him on your roster, you selected him with one of your first couple of picks. I like Kirk fine this week, but no chance am I benching Harrison in one of the higher-total games of the week after just one bad outing.

Question 4:: I need 1 RB and 2 Flex out of: J.K. Dobbins, Travis Etienne, Chris Godwin, and Rashee Rice (0.5 PPR) (relativity2MC)

Answer:: Rice and Godwin are locks for me in the two Flex spots. Both teams have high points expectations and both receivers have explosive ability and high-volume roles, giving them a nice combination of floor and ceiling. That leaves us with a choice at running back between Dobbins and Etienne. Things change fast in the NFL and both of these backs are involved in relatively even timeshares with another RB. The difference is that Dobbins faces a Carolina team that was awful in Week 1 and lost a key run defender in the process, while Etienne faces a very good Cleveland defense. I’ll surprise some people and take Dobbins here.

Question 5:: League 1: I have 2 Flex spots and I am trying to decide amongst Khalil Shakir, DJ Moore, Zack Moss, and Jayden Reed. Full PPR. Obviously Moore and Reed are the better talents, but with their QB play, should I think about Moss/Shakir at all?

League 2: Pick 2 of 3: JK Dobbins, Jayden Reed, Tank Dell. PPR. (riverfish1)

Answer:: League 1: Moore is a no brainer for me as I trust his talent and think the Bears will improve significantly from their dud of an opener. Also, with Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze both banged up, it could be a very busy week for Moore against a Texans team that got burned for several big plays by the Colts in Week 1. For the second spot, I’d go with Reed as a potential big-play option for the Packers since his skill set is the one Green Bay is likely to use in creative ways with Jordan Love out of the lineup. Losing Love hurts Reed less than it hurts the other Packers wide receivers.

For the second league, I would lean Dobbins and Dell. I am really sold on the running game for this Chargers team and the matchup is just so, so good for Dobbins this week. Slight lean to Dell over Reed due to the higher scoring expectations for the Texans over the Packers.